Galle gears up for England

Work on one of the world's most picturesque cricket grounds, the Galle International Stadium, is going ahead as scheduled to host the third Test between Sri Lanka and England starting on December 18.

There was fear that Galle may not host a Test match at all because of the delays the stadium underwent during its rebuilding process following the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami which entirely destroyed it.

However, work on the stadium has increased at a hectic pace after the construction of the pavilion, dressing rooms, media centre, VIP enclosures etc was handed over to one of the country's leading construction companies last week.

"It is a very challenging task but I am confident we can complete it by the deadline of November 15 set by Sri Lanka Cricket. We did Dambulla Stadium in 155 days," said Priyantha Perera, a director of the construction company.

Galle Stadium curator Jayananda Warnaweera was more definite in his assumption. "We will definitely host the Test match," he said. "The centre wicket is ready to stage a match even now. Grass has been planted on the outfield. All that needs to be complete is the pavilion, dressing rooms and media centre which will be able to accommodate 150 journalists." .

Outlining the delays they experienced in getting work started on the stadium, Sri Lanka Cricket secretary K Mathivanan said: "Our original intention was to put up a five-storey building. But we ran into trouble with the Archaeological Department and the Urban Development Authority who objected to it because there is a rule that does not allow construction of buildings higher than two storeys in front of the Galle Fort which is on the UNESCO list of world monuments.

"We eventually settled for two storeys but we expanded horizontally demolishing the Galle Cricket Club and Municipality buildings so that we had 38,000 square feet of space. Even then the UDA did not approve it. We had to finally seek the help of the President. All these delays pushed back the construction to the stadium."

The total cost to Sri Lanka Cricket is expected to be around Rs 400 million (approx $ 3,577,817).